Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1887-07-27
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In reading of the swindling operations Of
The time, especially those perpetxatsd upon
farmers, We ere at los 10 determins which
n ths more rssnark able, the ingenuity oi the
swindlers or the stupidity Of their victimA
The bunco raacsls come from the great
cities and successfully play their well.Woru
tricks upon the rural citiz sns the pretended
venders Of seedS sced wheat, oats, trees,
fertilizers patent machinery, etc., those who
obtain the signatures Of responsible farmers
to some seemingly innocent paper which
Afterwards turns up - prom,ssory note for
large amount and swindlers OF every sort,
swarm In the rural regions aud tiud easy
victims In every neighborhood. No matter
how absurd the proposition or how Calpable
the fraudulent intent the temptation offered
seems 10 hide the hook aud the gudgopu
swallows the scheme aud, Of course, 10
swindled. One scheme follows another and
swtndlers OF every sort rapidly succeed one
another. Their victims howl and everything
becomes publicly known Nevertheless, new
swindlers come along and are suc,essful
We seldom hear Of the arrest or punishment
OF one OF these smart asoundrels and they 70
on from year to year, varying their schemes,
lnventng new swindles and perpetrating
them with profit and impunity. The rural
hnitely, offering q perennial spring, - II
werc, 70 crafty the thirst Of the advsnturous
villains for Illicit gain. The credulity
OF the country people aud their ca.
s,,,v rss,,y for 0s being . dSRsS ere simply
lAmentabie fact was lately furnished by Ger.
tain farmers in the western part Of Monroe
county to whom sharper sold, or cont rScted
10 sell, shetland ponies At 81 apiece they ad-
vancing him the amount Of the freight upon
| n
fellow, according to the story - 1t comes 10
us called on farmers, business men and
others tselecting those having children) with
photographs OF . number Of beautiful Shet
dollars apiece. At the same time he
would give full pedigree of each pony,
guarAnteeng the pretty little animal 10
be perfectly sound, kind and ~ harmless
A. kitten. He said the reason he
offered them cheap was that he owned
large stock farm in New York state, aud that
they bred 30 rapidly that he had all the
large circus companies overlooked and WAS
compelled TO kill them or ship them out on
the Prsiries, and there allow them to roam
until they died or were disposed Of in some
manner. And to still make his argument
more plausible he said that the Delaware,
Lsckawsnns ~ Western railroad company
offered such good facilities that they were
easily shipped to Stroudsburg and would be,
a. soon Is q car load was sold. After Q pony
had been selected he would inform the pur-
chaser that he must have the required
amount of money to pay the freight on it, at
the same time stating that all railroad com.
panies under the new law cOmpellod ship.
pers to pay in advance and that the money
they paid Was not for the ponies, but simply
to defray or cover the ex penses Of getting
them to the purchaser. In that way he
would get the required amount OF each pur-
chaser. During his conversation he produced
the best of references including names OF
citizens familiar with those he was dealing
with at the time. Those whom be swindled
say that his story appeared 70 bs a. true -
gospel, and that he told IL SO nicely, that all
of his victims were sure they would get .
pony for the paltry sum Of Ii ve dollars. Last
week WIS the time when the pouies were to
arrive and consequently = number went TO
the depot to get them. They returned home
sorely disappointed but wiser men. 1t Is
said that about twenty-five persons have
fallen victims to this pony swindle. In this
case the swindler's sudacity and address
were very wonderful, but really less won-
dertul than the credulity and stupidity OF his
victims We can scarcely pity men who
allow their love Of gain to blind them to res.
son TO this extent They are as much the
victims OF their cupidty as Of their stu.
pldlty, perhaps more